Monday, October 31, 2011

If I asked you to pick up a garter snake, unless you had a fear of snakes, you would most likely walk up to it and simply pick it up. You know the snake is harmless and even though it may bite, it won't do any real damage. But then I asked you to pick up a king cobra, you would probably look at me like I'm out of my mind.

The same holds true for defensive tactics. Most methods of martial arts and self defense work is because the world is mostly filled with garter snakes. They're somewhat harmless to mildly dangerous people who may look scary to someone who doesn't know the difference between a copperhead and a corn snake but at the end of the day, would rather back off than withstand any physical pain. They're the local bully at the bar, the gym tough guy or the junkie trying to get over on you. They chest bump you on line or take your parking spot. They're the person who gets a little froggy, but will back down if properly threatened or receive a little pain. The garter snake can be handled easily. Against a garter snake, a lot of martial arts, verbal judo and self defense methods will work. This is why martial arts still survive. Most people simply don't want to fight if they think they're going to endure injury, embarrassment or legal ramifications. While most people talk about fighting, they'll avoid it when push comes to punch. And give the old "He's not worth it" line.

Martial arts train you for garter snakes and against a garter snake a lot of what you're doing will work. Personally, I don't give a shit about garter snakes, I train for king cobras.

A king cobra is that 1% of society that doesn't give a damn about me, my life or my family. He doesn't care about the consequences of his actions. He's experienced in using violence to get what he wants. He's an apex predator and will use whatever means necessary. He's cunning, knows all the angles and will have you boxed in as soon as you as you give him the chance. You can feel his presence when he walks into the room. He cannot be ignored.

I train for that guy and that guy alone because I know if I focus on the king cobra, I can handle the garter snakes with ease. Compared to a cobra, the garter snake is a rubber stick. Most people would just as soon avoid the king cobra all together. Wise move, but what if you can't? What if the cobra stands between you and survival?

If you're not training to deal with cobras you're already admitting defeat and submission. You are saying that you will eventually roll over at the first sign of a 100% certified bad ass. And if you're willing to accept that defeat, than good luck to you, I will continue to talk to the people who prepare for the worst.

If you haven't been pitted against a true sociopath predator...it's one of those, if I have to explain you wouldn't understand. I have dealt with cobras and am better for it. It's funny, I've come in contact with them more through my personal life than my professional. When I had my bike shop we did some dealings with some outlaw bikers and attended their functions. Needless to say, most went without incident while a few did not. God bless my wife for dealing with me...

There's nothing better than standing up for what you believe in and being able to protect the people you love. It's like the day you stood up to the bully (only multiplied by 10!). Remember how you felt inside? Like all was right in the world and you could do know wrong. Standing up for yourself against true danger is a feeling every man, woman and child should know. It's a feeling of real self worth and there is nothing like it in the world.

Chances are you'll go through life and only play with garter snakes. I truly wish that for everyone. Unfortunately, the king cobras are out there and you don't know if you have a king cobra or a garter snake until it's too late.

Damian Ross is CEO of the Self Defense Company and developer of The Self Defense Training System, the most lethal and effective self defense system in the world, The Guardian Defensive Tactics Police Combatives Program, 60 minute Self Defense and the Family Safe Program. Mr. Ross also founded the Self Defense Instructor Program that helps people develop their self defense careers from the ground up. Mr. Ross is originally from Ridgewood, NJ where he was a High School Hall of Fame Athlete in football and wrestling as well as a varsity wrestling coach. He then went on to Lehigh University where he was a varsity wrestler and football player. Mr. Ross has 3 black belts, 4th Degree in Tekkenryu Jujutsu, 2nd Degree in Judo, 2nd Degree in Tae Kwon Do. In addition to his martial arts experience, Mr; Ross spent 8 years in the professional security and personal protection business. He is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities in reality based self defense.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

This past summer the Self Defense Company's Intensive Training Summit marked the start of something incredible. It served as the blueprint for next year's event as well as the years to come. After only 3 years I have been fortunate enough to have shared time with some fantastic people and I have been honored that they have chosen to represent the Self Defense Company and the Self Defense Training System over all others. If you attend next year's summit, you'll have the opportunity to meet these people.

This week we released the first Training Summit Video. I have to credit SDC Instructor Tom Powers for suggesting I put it on video and make it available. Normally I would rather put more of a produced piece together instead of the "run and gun" format of a typical seminar video. But I'm glad I did. It enables people to reap the benefits of the summit and makes it more accessible. I you didn't have the time and opportunity to attend the live event, now you can at least be included.

The Training Summit Video managed to capture the spirit of the event. The comradery, the intensity and the diversity of the group set the benchmark high for years to come. We were lucky enough to have SDC Instructor from Virgina Beach, Dennis Daroczy a former SEAL, Chopper Pilot and firearms expert give his presentation on Handguns. We also had SDC Instructors Ruben Bean and Joe Landry demonstrate training methods they developed for the SDTS. I was able to implement new partner and group training drills and saw success with both new an experienced SDTS practitioners.

Next year along with myself and Micheal Archangel, we'll have formal presentations from Level 4 Instructors Darren Poesel, Reuben Bean, Joe Landry, Dennis Daroczy as well as life long friend and training partner Pete Barry (Pete's the primary guy in the videos and the one who kicks my butt on the iFightback app).

For now, you can have the 4 set DVD package for $87.00 on the www.sdctraining.com site. We only made 1,000 and I think we're already down to 700 and something. The running time on the video set is almost 8 hours long and to tell you the truth, it could have been 20 hours but the editor and the producer told me I would be nuts to try to release it. However, they did a great job in capturing the core material of the Training Summit.

Next year we're working with a local college to provide housing and meals. The goal is to lower the cost of the overall experience dramatically. Instead of paying a couple of hundred per night in a hotel, plus meals, we'll cut that cost in half for you. As soon as I have the details, I will let you know. In the meantime, please enjoy the Training Summit DVD Set and I hope to meet you next year.

Oh and by the way, if you do get the DVD set and wish to attend next year, there's a coupon code on the DVD Box you can use to get the full $87 off of your registration for 2012.

Damian Ross is CEO of the Self Defense Company and developer of The Self Defense Training System, the most lethal and effective self defense system in the world, The Guardian Defensive Tactics Police Combatives Program, 60 minute Self Defense and the Family Safe Program. Mr. Ross also founded the Self Defense Instructor Program that helps people develop their self defense careers from the ground up. Mr. Ross is originally from Ridgewood, NJ where he was a High School Hall of Fame Athlete in football and wrestling as well as a varsity wrestling coach. He then went on to Lehigh University where he was a varsity wrestler and football player. Mr. Ross has 3 black belts, 4th Degree in Tekkenryu Jujutsu, 2nd Degree in Judo, 2nd Degree in Tae Kwon Do. In addition to his martial arts experience, Mr; Ross spent 8 years in the professional security and personal protection business. He is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities in reality based self defense.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Schoolyard fights start in fighting stances, real fights are over before you know it.

When I started Tae Kwon Do as a teenager, I would get into my fighting stance ready to kick ass and take names. Later I would work jobs based on my martial arts training. This started with crappy gigs in places most people would normally avoid. The violence I witnessed during this time barely resembled anything I prepared for in training.

The problem was my martial arts training consisted of sparring and self defense. Sparring had me face my opponent on an equal, controlled playing field. Self defense taught me to wait to be attacked and then defend myself. Both of these behaviors have no place in the real world. Nothing ever happened like the way I was told it was going to happen. People can be ruthless, unforgiving and do or say whatever it takes to impose their will on you. One minute you think a situation is over, the next a bottle is getting smashed over your head.

The few fights where guys took a fighting stance out in the parking lot or when they just started pushing each other usually didn't end up with any serious injury. The worst assaults happened when two guys (or girls) had a beef, until one of them assured the other he didn't have a problem any longer. After you thought it was over, the one who backed off would just turn around and knock the other one out. Or they waited until they left and ambushed them in the parking lot. These are the people who concern me. The ones you didn't see coming. They're the most violent and have no apparent regard for human life.

I observed that good street fighters actually don't "fight" at all. They convince you that everything is OK and then attack you when you're relaxed. It could be at that moment or hours later. They could use their hands, a weapon or their friends, depending on how tough they think you are and how much they needed to impose their will on you. These little details were left out of my martial arts training.

In class we either sparred out of a fighting stance in sparring or we practiced self defense. Self defense training was when you're given a series of attacks that you and your partner practice on each other. You stood there waiting to be attacked, when your partner attacked, you did the prescribed self defense. Even when we ramped it up and practiced against multiple attackers it worked. The problem was in the real world it never happened that way. You were never just attacked with a single technique and given time to react. The bad guy always came with a series of attacks and in ways never imagined. In life, the guy who attacked first won. That never happened that way in class. It was always the "never throw the first punch" mentality. While this may work in elementary school, it's an extremely naive way to deal with adult violence.

It quickly dawned on me that what I was learning in class was fun, but not exactly what worked and outside the dojo. It wasn't until I started training in the SDTS that I actually learned how to start attacking from a non-threatening position. I discovered how to take advantage of position, distance, balance and momentum. I trained for proactive and reactive self defense. I knew how to react with non-specific gross motor techniques.

The funny thing is I was kind of doing these things already, but I didn't realize it until I discovered the SDTS and reflected on my experience. I realized how my martial arts and training for self defense in the SDTS were as different as NASCAR racing is to NHRA drag racing.

Sure they're both cars and they both will get you down the track, but I wouldn't want to race a NASCAR on a drag strip and I sure as heck wouldn't want to race a dragster on the NASCAR circuit. Yet, that's what I was doing with my martial arts.
Martial arts is like NASCAR where cars are meant to meet on equal ground where the skill of the driver is tested over longer periods of time. Self defense is like a drag race: do whatever you can as fast as you can to finish first. Start first, finish first. Sparring in the street might get you a few wins, until you come up against a dragster.

Assuming a fighting stance does more harm than good. First it lets the guy your fighting know that you have some knowledge and you're willing to fight. This is going to cause him to do one or all of three things. Get you to relax, tell you there's not a problem and then when your guard is down, sucker punch you. He could get a weapon or even some friends to give him a hand. Listen, a street fighter isn't looking for a fair fight, he's just looking for a win and he will do anything he can to get the job done. If you want to compete with that you better start playing his game.

Another thing a stance does is let every witness around you know you're willing to fight. Heck, months later at trial, it can be turned around to make it seem like you started the fight. There are a lot of issues surrounding defending yourself, one of them is legal. You might as well train in a way that will put you in the best light legally and tactically.

Smoke him out.
We have a rule in the SDTS, keep him far enough away so that if he tries to hit you, he has to shift his weight. A bad guy is going to want to close the distance on you. Once you establish the distance and he crosses it, you know his true intentions. Now is the time you escape or attack, the choice is yours.
Take a "Non-Fighting" Stance
Learn to fight out of a talking position or what we call in the SDTS the "Interview Stance". There are 4 versions of this depending on your distance to target. They're meant to present a non-threatening posture to your target. This will set your target at ease and show the world you're not looking for a fight. Listen, I'm not in the "talk tough" game. If a guy isn't a real dangerous person you're probably going to walk away without incident, so there's no sense in giving him something to defend his ego over. I'm concerned with the 1% of the world who's not going to react to sabre rattling. That's the guy I need to take by surprise and end it before it starts. No need to let him know I have a clue about fighting.

If you're going to go, go, if you're not going to go, don't go.
Once you make the decision to attack it's an all or nothing proposition. Practice explosive gross motor combinations to non-specific, target rich areas. This will enable you to get the drop on him and take advantage of your body's natural fight or flight response. Always train in multiple combination of 3 to 6 or more. Train the techniques as fast and as hard as you can. Remember to take ground, stomp your feet and move forward. Stop when there is no longer a threat.

Street fights are not sparring matches where two guys are pitted against each other until one gives up or is even knocked out. Real fights are assaults, rapes and attempted homicides. Watching an actual assault will get you sick to your stomach (which is a natural reaction of sane people). Just be prepared for what's out there. There are people who will do anything to impose their will on you. You may live a life and never run into one, but all it takes is one wrong turn, one bad break and you're in a tough situation.

Martial arts, wrestling and other sports instilled in me a great work ethic, sense of fair play and honor. This is how I live my life, but not how I defend it.

Damian Ross is CEO of the Self Defense Company and developer of The Self Defense Training System, the most lethal and effective self defense system in the world, The Guardian Defensive Tactics Police Combatives Program, 60 minute Self Defense and the Family Safe Program. Mr. Ross also founded the Self Defense Instructor Program that helps people develop their self defense careers from the ground up. Mr. Ross is originally from Ridgewood, NJ where he was a High School Hall of Fame Athlete in football and wrestling as well as a varsity wrestling coach. He then went on to Lehigh University where he was a varsity wrestler and football player. Mr. Ross has 3 black belts, 4th Degree in Tekkenryu Jujutsu, 2nd Degree in Judo, 2nd Degree in Tae Kwon Do. In addition to his martial arts experience, Mr; Ross spent 8 years in the professional security and personal protection business. He is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities in reality based self defense.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

There's a new series on the National Geographic Channel called Brain Games and anyone who is into defensive tactics needs to watch this. Especially the episode that focuses on attention and multitasking. In one segment they put a chronic multitasker through a series of tests like driving a car through an obstacle course while talking on a hands free cell phone. The results were less than spectacular. It was impossible for the subject to talk and drive a car at the same time. What they proved was when talking on the phone, you focus on the conversation NOT you're driving. You may be looking at the road, but you're not processing that information, your just staring at it. It's funny, how many times have you turned down the radio when you're trying to find an address? That's because in order to concentrate you need devote complete attention to the task at hand. The truth is we're not multitaskers at all it's impossible to focus on two things at once. What we really are is serial processors. We can process things one at a time in rapid succession. The best we can hope for is to shift our attention from one thing to another very quickly. It may appear like we're doing multiple things at the same but we're only going back and forth between tasks. It's like the guy spinning plates, you just dart from one to the other trying to keep them all in the air.

How this relates to self defense is that when you're under stress, this inability to multitask becomes intensified to the point that you are only able to do one thing at a time. Your ability to shift attention drops as does your ability to perform multiple movements.

Take a multiple attacker scenario as seen in many martial arts demonstrations. This is where you see the defender standing in the middle of a group of attackers. While he's still fighting the one in front of him he will engage another attacker. While in practice, in the safety of the training hall this looks like it would work, it's misleading. If you pay close attention, he really can only handle one attack at a time. The problem is that he is trained to stand in the middle and wait to be attacked. This is what's going to get him killed (aside from what he's trying to do). You are lead to believe based on the structure of this drill that you will be able to stand there and take on all comers.

The problem is obvious, if everyone decided to attack at once you would be bum-rushed and crushed.

You can only take care of what's right in front of you. The thought of shifting your attention in mid technique to another attacker, while maintaining the same level of effectiveness over two attackers is just not going to happen. Your best bet is to eliminate the threat right in front of you as fast as possible and keep moving in a direction of escape. Squaring off against multiple threats is ill advised and foolish. When everything else is equal and the threat is 1 1/2 times your forces you will most likely lose.

Years ago we practiced keeping one person in front and using that person as a shield to fend off the others. The best you could do in this situation is grab the person closest to you and watch the others behind him using the person in your grasp and keep them in between you and the next threat. In the dojo, it looked like it worked (when there were only two attackers) and no one was really trying to beat me senseless. But as soon as the attackers turned up the juice, you were forced to eliminate them one at a time as fast as possible. The other tactic of shielding only wasted time and burned a lot of valuable energy. Which brings us to our point.

The way you defeat multiple attackers is the same way you defeat a single attacker: as fast as you can. Repeat the process as needed.

You need to assume that every situation is a multiple attacker scenario. You can't see who's with your primary threat, he may have friends blending into the crowd or hiding near by. Plus, you'll be completely focused on the person standing in front of you to even scan the area. The only way to account for multiple threats is through distance and movement. Engage the initial threat, keep moving forward and continue to steam roll over whatever pops up in front of you. Drive, attack and move. By moving you'll create distance between you and what you don't see. You don't know where they are, but you can control where you are. The only way to make sure you will do this under stress is to incorporate that movement in your training.

Can you train to engage multiple attackers like they do in the movies? The Brain Geeks say it's impossible. Yet people continue to force feed themselves something that goes against their body's natural programming. The obvious problem is that you're only going to find out if your training works when you're actually attacked. If you want to risk your neck on someone's best guess, have at it. I'll stick with science and nature.

Damian Ross is CEO of the Self Defense Company and developer of The Self Defense Training System, the most lethal and effective self defense system in the world, The Guardian Defensive Tactics Police Combatives Program, 60 minute Self Defense and the Family Safe Program. Mr. Ross also founded the Self Defense Instructor Program that helps people develop their self defense careers from the ground up. Mr. Ross is originally from Ridgewood, NJ where he was a High School Hall of Fame Athlete in football and wrestling as well as a varsity wrestling coach. He then went on to Lehigh University where he was a varsity wrestler and football player. Mr. Ross has 3 black belts, 4th Degree in Tekkenryu Jujutsu, 2nd Degree in Judo, 2nd Degree in Tae Kwon Do. In addition to his martial arts experience, Mr; Ross spent 8 years in the professional security and personal protection business. He is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities in reality based self defense.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

People spend countless hours training for scenarios that will never, or could ever happen. Yet masters all over the globe teach them without any thought to what they are actually to the content or context of the attack itself. It's mindlessly regurgitated techniques in "because I said so" fashion. Well it's time to seriously take a look at what you are doing and ask your self "Am I being ridiculous?"

There are three factors that make an attack ridiculous, the way it's practiced, the attack itself and the circumstances around the attack. The video gives an example of each of these with the wrist grab, the "stiff arm knife" and the POW execution.

The wrist grab is an ever popular attack and if you walk into any self defense seminar or martial arts school you will most likely be placed in this deadly hold.

Why do we practice it?
You practice this attack because like most other attacks, it's left over from Judo's Goshinjutsu. In the 1900's Judo developed a series of self defense techniques and called it Goshinjutsu. Yes JUDO (doesn't sound so sexy anymore does it?) No other martial art prior to this used this term, no matter what your sensei says. After the introduction of Goshijutsu, every style of martial art from Tae Kwon Do to Brazilian Jiujitsu, took liberally from it and of course put their own twist on it. To be honest, the original Goshinjustsu left a lot to be desired. It was based on outdated Japanese Jujutsu techniques. Seen here:

Part 2 is here:

Look familiar? I want to go on record and say that its not all rubbish, there's some good stuff in there if you know what to look for and I could probably spend hours talking about it. Truth be told, I love this for what it is but it's confusing and misleading for direct translation to self defense. More to the point of this post, you have probably seen a lot of these techniques or variations of them in your local school. Even the formula of strike, joint lock and control is taken from Judo's Goshinjutsu.

Would a wrist grab even happen?
Sure, if you were going to be pulled and dragged or even just pinned and distracted while you were assaulted. You even have the drunk brother in law situation. In any case, the actual grab on the wrist is not life threatening and in reality, you shouldn't even pay attention to it. Your brother-in-law can be pushed, yelled at and you can pull your arm away, all others need to be hit repeatedly and very hard I might add.

Attacks like the "stiff arm knife", the "stiff arm Frankenstein front and rear chokes" and collar grab series are all pretty useless.

Why do you practice these attacks?
Because anything works against someone when their arms are extended. All joint locks, grabs, holds and releases work. Unfortunately, you do not get attacked like this, EVER.

Would this attack happen?
Yes, but not like it's practiced in most systems. During mugs like these your attacker will pull you close to intimidate you. He will also want to conceal what's happening from the rest of the world. In the case of a knife mug from the rear, its obvious that he's trying to get something from you and doesn't want to kill you yet. So he's going to keep you close and talk to you to keep you calm and under control. In order to do this he needs you to feel his breath and make it seem like there's no one else in the world.

Now before you start handing him your wallet, keep in mind, he may want to move you and in that case you're most likely going to die, be rapped or worse. The reason a criminal wants to move you is because they want to do something to you that they can't do there. Believe it or not, some people are just sick and twisted and not just interested in money.

The POW- Gangsta assassination defense. A favorite among white suburbanite self defense enthusiasts. This is the one where the defender is on his knees and the bad guy puts the gun to the back of his head and right when he's about to blow his brains out, the good guy spins into action and takes the bad guy out without even harming him.

Why do people practice it?
I guess the reason why people practice this is for self confidence. You think of the worst case scenario and you put yourself there. The thinking is if I can get out of this, I can get out of anything.

Would this situation really happen?
Sure, anything can happen. Maybe your drug deal went bad or you couldn't pay the vig. Perhaps you're Jason Bourne, you have a flash drive with the launch codes inserted in your rectum and you need to get it to the embassy, heck even the more realistic scenario of a home invasion gone bad is still a stretch. Let's just say a lot has to happen before you get to this point. Hopefully you would have done something along the way, but in case you didn't and you're kneeling with your hands behind your head confidently waiting for your moment to pounce, there are a few things you should know.

First, if he's going to pull the trigger on you, he's not going to press it against your head (unless it's a revolver), the slide on a semi-auto needs to, well a...slide, no slide = no bang, bang. All it takes is 8 pounds of pressure to lock a gun up. In other words, he can't fire when it's pressed up against your skull.

Second, there's a little matter, brain matter that is. When your melon is pierced with the bullet it will spray and splatter. No self respecting criminal is going to get your gray stuff all over his Dolce and Gabannas. Chances are he'll be a foot or more away when he actually puts a "cap in your ass", is that how the kids say it?

Finally there's the matter of mobility. How long have you been kneeling? Try getting in that position for five minutes and "jumping" into action. I assure you, it will not be pretty.

In short, if you are going to train for this situation make sure your attacker is a foot away and try to defend yourself after sitting there for 5 minutes. Yep, that's what I thought. Like my Judo instructor said about being choked, "best defense is not to be there."

Time is valuable. I don't know about you but I seem to have less and less of it. It's hard enough to get in proper training let alone wasting time with situations that will never happen. If you only have so much time, wouldn't it be better to focus your efforts on what will most likely impact your life? Its more likely you will be approached while getting into your car or apartment than be executed gangland style. Its probably more likely you will have to hit someone than apply a rear naked choke. If you only have a handful of hours to train, prioritize your training, don't glamorize it.

Damian Ross is CEO of the Self Defense Company and developer of The Self Defense Training System, the most lethal and effective self defense system in the world, The Guardian Defensive Tactics Police Combatives Program, 60 minute Self Defense and the Family Safe Program. Mr. Ross also founded the Self Defense Instructor Program that helps people develop their self defense careers from the ground up. Mr. Ross is originally from Ridgewood, NJ where he was a High School Hall of Fame Athlete in football and wrestling as well as a varsity wrestling coach. He then went on to Lehigh University where he was a varsity wrestler and football player. Mr. Ross has 3 black belts, 4th Degree in Tekkenryu Jujutsu, 2nd Degree in Judo, 2nd Degree in Tae Kwon Do. In addition to his martial arts experience, Mr; Ross spent 8 years in the professional security and personal protection business. He is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities in reality based self defense.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

How difficult is it to stab someone? More to the point, how difficult is it to injure or kill someone with an edged weapon. In the grand scheme of things I would much rather be the one holding the weapon and I'm not real excited about the prospect of being cut or stabbed. I do know that getting cut is not nearly as deadly as your self defense has lead you to believe.

Who wants to get cut? The idea of a knife digging into my side is not a pleasant one. It's no wonder that most knife defenses involve controlling the knife. But how "dangerous" is the knife. Is it as dangerous as we have been lead to believe?

As a youth I remember putting on the goggles and attacking my training partner with a felt magic marker and playing tag in the dojo, declaring my opponent dead with every black mark on his white shirt. Later we graduated to chalked knives and finally, the coup de gras, the shock knife.

In all honesty, these are good tools to work with if used properly. But the trap we fall into is we put too much focus on getting touched by the knife. The result is a game of tag that resembles something out of West Side Story (I realize this reference is getting old, so you're going to have to youtube it).

Playing tag instills bad habits. I mean, horrible habits that will get you killed. The first of which is stalking your knife wielding attacker or waiting for him to attack. Dancing around looking for an opening will only work to your assailants advantage. When ever possible you must take the advantage of attacking first.

Wait, we have to pause for the obvious comments: Yes, escape, pepper spray, other weapons (improvised or otherwise) and firearms are excellent (and first) options. Now back to our regularly scheduled post.

There are a few questions that need to be asked before we continue.
1. Do slashes cause more damage than stabs?
2. How easy is it to be stabbed. Meaning, how much force do we have to use and how many times can we be stabbed before we are incapacitated or killed?
3. How does getting touched with the knife in practice translate into getting touched with a real knife?
4. How many times can I get cut or stabbed?
5. What will I be able to do when we are faced with the reality of a knife attack?

For illustration purposes I offer the video below.

Let's answer our questions.

1. Stabs cause more damage than slashes. Generally our main arteries are tucked away inside our legs, arms and up towards the front of our neck. Being inside puts them in a defensible places as opposed to on the outside our arms, legs and our backs.

. While the renal arteries are located on the back you need a penetrating stab to sever them. In fact, the majority of the arteries require a stab or a deep slash to cut. The point is superficial slashes are far less dangerous than deep gouging slashes.

2. You can tell from the video that in order to penetrate your target with a stab you will need a decent amount of force. To do that you need to have a good grip on the weapon, your feet planted and a forceful thrust or slash.

3. Getting touched with a training knife doesn't mean you will get cut with a live knife. It takes more force to break skin with a knife than it does to make a mark with ink and chalk or get shocked with the shock blade. Make no mistake, these are great training tools, you just need to train through the cut, go harder and disregard the damage.

4. It depends where you get cut or stabbed. If a major artery is cut you can bleed out in minutes. But in order for your attacker to do that they will have to penetrate deep enough. In order to do penetrate, they need to cut with significant force.

5. What will you really be able to do when you are fighting for your life? Combat studies show that under stress seasoned warriors can only perform one or two gross motor functions with a single purpose in mind. (LtCol Grossmans'"On Combat" and "On Killing"). For example, soldiers under attack can only point and fire their weapon (over 80% of the time, some soldiers don't fire a shot at all). The soldier has repeated this action hundreds of times. The more advanced the soldiers training, the more rounds he's fired. The amount of rounds Special Ops guys fire can number well into the millions over the course of a career.

The point is, your actions must be simple and with single purpose. The only way to make sure those actions will bear fruit is by practicing the same motor skill set over and over again and then applying that same skill set to any situation. Think about firing a weapon. The environment and target may change, but the act of firing your weapon remains constant.

What you need to do with your training is to create the same "firearm" model. One skill set that you can adapt to any target and any environment. Trying to deliver a different solution for each individual situation in impossible. Trying to perform those different and complex moves under stress is ridiculous.

The popular thinking here is that the more deadly the weapon, the more complicated the response. Typical self defense programs will show simple reactions to empty hand assaults and then complex techniques for weapon attacks. This line of thinking is counter to what your engineered to do. When faced with a weapon you will be more stressed and more scared, the result is that you will think less clearly and your motor movements will become even MORE fundamental. To think that you can train this out of your DNA is egotistical, irresponsible and reckless. To think that everyday people who work regular jobs and never encounter violence on a regular basis are made to believe they can do this is a crime.

No one can say for sure exactly what's going to happen when you're under the gun, but experience tells us that you will do what the emphasis of your training has told you to do. If you spend more time manipulating and trying to control the weapon arm then that's what you'll do. Add to that your loss of finite motor skills and who knows if you'll react at all!

The obvious choice between trying to control the weapon and the the man holding the weapon is to knock the man holding the weapon out as fast as possible.

Let me put you in the attacker's shoes. What would you do if someone smacked you in the face and grabbed your arm holding the weapon? You would probably retract your weapon arm and fight back by hitting him in the head as hard as you could.

Now what's the typical martial arts' response? Hit him again! OK, great, all I'm saying is: let's forgo the BS and just keep hitting him. Never give him a chance to react, don't give him a second to breathe. Attack and keep attacking.

This is what we know:

We know that in order to do maximum damage with the knife he needs to have his feet planted, grip it and stab you over and over again.

We know that you will only be able act with one simple purpose under stress.

We know that you will only to be able to perform gross motor skills under stress.

Be warned: most experts will tell you will get cut defending against a knife but then they teach you a technique that trains you to do everything to not get cut! It's counter intuitive. Train to get cut. Like SDC Instructor Dennis Daroczy said before he and his Seal Team went on a mission "Today is a good day to die".
Facing a weapon is a nasty proposition and anything I do from this point forward is an improvement because I'm standing in a "dead man's shoes".

It's hard to resist the urge to focus on the weapon, after all, it's what's stressing you out. You must train to shift your focus from the weapon to the guy trying to stab you. To take care of him it will take everything you have. Anything less than your 100% effort to disable the man is that much of an opportunity you are giving him to do you in.

Let's put it this way, how well will you be able to stab someone if that someone was, let's say, hitting you in the face repeatedly? Knocking you unconscious or driving you backwards until you tripped and fell over the curb? Not too well I'd imagine.

In the Self Defense Training System you train to create openings and attack the man. You create an opening by asking a question, when he starts to speak you hit him as hard and as fast as you can, as often as you can while you take ground and drive him over what ever objects are in the way. You train to use your environment and try to get him to trip up. You use objects like table and chairs. The last thing you want to do is face a man with a knife with your bare hands.

Getting cut by an errant stab is 180 degrees different than getting stabbed by someone who is attacking you. Training just to attack will enable you to fight through being cut. In the majority of knife attacks, victims didn't even realized they were stabbed until after the assault.

These are the facts:
1. The vast majority of knife attacks don't end in fatality.
2. People have received multiple stab wounds, still fought and survived
3. People who survived either ran away or attacked their attacker.
4. Getting touched or even sliced with a knife is not nearly a fatality.
5. In order to cause damage with a knife you need to grip it and thrust it into the
target with power.
6. You will be only able to perform simple, gross motor movements under stress.
Complicated joint moments and footwork are impossible.
7. The faster you disable the man, the better your chances to survive.
8. In the future, don't forget to bring a gun to the knife fight.

You can waste your time practicing things that will never ever work or you can spend your time doing things you know will work. Listen, if you can't hit someone hard enough to knock them silly, how on earth are you going to have the physical ability to twist their joints and control them?

Damian Ross is CEO of the Self Defense Company and developer of The Self Defense Training System, the most lethal and effective self defense system in the world, The Guardian Defensive Tactics Police Combatives Program, 60 minute Self Defense and the Family Safe Program. Mr. Ross also founded the Self Defense Instructor Program that helps people develop their self defense careers from the ground up. Mr. Ross is originally from Ridgewood, NJ where he was a High School Hall of Fame Athlete in football and wrestling as well as a varsity wrestling coach. He then went on to Lehigh University where he was a varsity wrestler and football player. Mr. Ross has 3 black belts, 4th Degree in Tekkenryu Jujutsu, 2nd Degree in Judo, 2nd Degree in Tae Kwon Do. In addition to his martial arts experience, Mr; Ross spent 8 years in the professional security and personal protection business. He is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities in reality based self defense.

Monday, October 3, 2011

This story was told to me by the late Carl Cestari who had asked our Judo instructor Yonezuka sensei to "perform" at a celebration of martial arts on Long Island, New York. It was called something like "1000 years of jujitsu". Yonezuka or "Yone" at the time was well into his 50's and still training hard (you should note that in his 70's he's still going strong). You should also know that Yone's skills in Judo, Karate and Sumo are incredible and his exploits are well known in the fight game in the 70's and 80's.

After some convincing, Carl takes Yonezuka to this demonstration in a high school gymnasium. The place is packed with people and as you would guess there's Aikido and Aikijujutsu demonstrations. People were getting tossed about by their finger tips and wincing in pain as they were being manipulated by their black belt instructors. It looks like a Steven Segal convention. While the scene is unfolding, Carl is watching Yonezuka grow a little agitated and impatient, as if he was thinking "you dragged me all the way out here for this?!?!"

Finally it's Yone's turn to speak. He get's on the microphone and in front of a packed auditorium he says "Martial arts is hard work, no magic! If anyone wants to come down and fight me, come on the mat." Yep, he basically challenged every one in the audience to a fight. There was some murmuring then finally, out of the audience of masters six people emerged to try their luck with the crazy Japanese guy. After the sixth one was tossed on his head, Yonezuka proceeded to do some instruction as promised.

Which brings me to my point, I've received comments from some well meaning people who have dedicated a large portion of their spare time to methods like Aikijujutsu, Aikido, kung fu and other endeavors we call "cultural fighting arts". These methods usually involve some or all of the following: complicated maneuvers, outdated weaponry, stances, joint locks, unrealistic throws and esoteric explanations. I can't really name specific arts simply because there are too many to list. Before I continue, let me point out that if you want to pursue these endeavors, great, but I would classify them as I would yoga, pilates, and other physical activities that include a cultural, spiritual and or social component. The one thing they definitely are not is self defense, nor do they ever lead to self defense.

There is not a point somewhere in the foreseeable future where you will be proficient enough at a cultural fighting art to perform it consistently in the real world against a determined and capable attacker. If you really want to use martial arts in a real fight you're far better off doing MMA, BBJ, Judo, Wrestling, Boxing, Kyokoshin Karate, Olympic Tae Kwon Do, Muy Thai or any other combat sport that requires you to use your skill against another person who's trying to do the same in a knock out, tap out environment (sorry, point fighting doesn't count, you need the potential of getting injured, I call this the "punched in the face, choked, twisted or slammed" factor).

Listen, I have a huge amount of respect for the Kendoka who practices thousands of cuts a day or the Aikidoka who subjects himself to thousands of break-falls. Anyone who sacrifices and subjects themselves to that type of torture is going to be a tough individual regardless. I also respect the marathon runner, power lifter and triathlete. Sure their expertise is not combative in nature, but it still requires an iron will of sorts. You can never discount the person who is willing to sacrifice comfort for pain.

But if self defense is your focus than cultural fighting arts are about as applicable as preparing for a civil war reenactment. From a defensive tactics perspective they're completely inefficient and a huge waste of time and you will never, ever acquire the skill you imagine you will.

Instead, you're best bet training in a self defense specific method, and focus on increasing your strength and endurance. Because in the end, there is no Santa, there will not come a day where you will be able to twirl around attackers like you do your dojo mates. Unless of course you're fighting the elderly or school children.

Make no mistake, I don't condemn or attack people seeking personal improvement, cultural exploration and a sense of community through cultural fighting arts. I have enjoyed my study of those arts and I know they have their benefits. The issue is with people who think that those practices are or will eventually lead to effective self defense.

I don't expect people who have spent years training in these types of arts to open their eyes, throw on an Self Defense Company shirt and start chin jabbing. Not yet anyway...but eventually you will. Because there are two types of people at the SDC: Those who just want self defense and those who have been through the martial arts experience and know the difference between martial arts and self defense.

When I started training in martial arts at 16 I had read the comic books and watch Kung Fu on TV. I wanted to be able to have superhuman strength, speed and power. Years later I discovered those people do exist, they're in the NFL.

In the end, it doesn't matter who's right, only who's left.
Train Honestly,

Damian Ross is CEO of the Self Defense Company and developer of The Self Defense Training System, the most lethal and effective self defense system in the world, The Guardian Defensive Tactics Police Combatives Program, 60 minute Self Defense and the Family Safe Program. Mr. Ross also founded the Self Defense Instructor Program that helps people develop their self defense careers from the ground up. Mr. Ross is originally from Ridgewood, NJ where he was a High School Hall of Fame Athlete in football and wrestling as well as a varsity wrestling coach. He then went on to Lehigh University where he was a varsity wrestler and football player. Mr. Ross has 3 black belts, 4th Degree in Tekkenryu Jujutsu, 2nd Degree in Judo, 2nd Degree in Tae Kwon Do. In addition to his martial arts experience, Mr; Ross spent 8 years in the professional security and personal protection business. He is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities in reality based self defense.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

In the video above we take you through four different scenarios with The Self Defense Training System: an imminent threat in your face, a two handed grab, a knife to the throat and a gun to your head. We illustrate how the SDTS solves these four different scenarios with one set of skills where other methods require you to learn four completely different sets of techniques.

An effective system not only looks at solving the problem at hand, but it also takes into consideration the effort and circumstances it takes a person to perform the solution. Most curriculum being taught as self defense techniques only look at the situation and have no regard for the person performing the technique. Your only consideration is that you are expected to memorize dozens if not hundreds of reactions in stressful and demanding situations. Unfortunately with little continuity between the reactions there is no way you will be able to do this in real world conditions.

In fact most self defense reactions taught are rooted in finite motor skill sets that are not available in hormone induced scenarios where the fight are flight mechanism is activated. Even though you can try to replicate some of these effects with exhaustion, you can not duplicate genuine fear. Thinking you can simply train to over come this fear in practice is ridiculous because your DNA will prove you wrong 10 out of 10 times. The only way to overcome this fear is to inoculate yourself through real life experiences or train to operate in the parameters of "fight or flight." In fact when you focus on using gross motor skills you will take advantage of the fight or flight reaction.

A system needs a building block of continuity. The concept and bio mechanics taught on day one must hold true throughout your training. Most systems, in fact all other systems we have encountered aren't really systems at all, but a sampling of random techniques used to provide solutions for specific, individual situations. A workable system must be adaptable based on a core set of principles not a random selection of "best" answers.

What has happened with self defense is this: martial arts expert gets a situation. Martial artist looks at the situation and gives his best answer. With the next situation presented, the process repeats itself with little or no regard to the last answer. The result from our expert is a series of responses based on the individual scenario.

The problem with this is that it only focuses on the situation without regard for the people expected to practice and execute these techniques. You are just expected to learn them and perform then under stress. Any failure is a failure on your part, not the part of the system. Well the "system" is wrong. That would be like a soccer coach teaching you to prepare for every possible attack from every angle and every location on the field and then putting you in a game expecting you to be ready for every possible angle of attack. You can imagine the infinite number of scenarios you would have to train for to be ludicrous, yet you are expected to do that with your self defense training.

Like a good soccer coach you need to learn basic skills, foot work, ball handling and then move on to strategy and learn how to apply those in the game. Self defense is the same. You get your core set of skills, understand the tactics and then move through how to apply them. This is how a system works. The skills are the tools that enable you to adapt.

Consider this as well, learning motor skills require repetitions. That number you have to practice to become proficient can be anywhere from the hundreds to the thousands. The actual number required depends on two things, the individual and the complexity of the skill. One things for certain, the larger the number of techniques and the more complex the techniques the longer it takes to learn them and the shorter you will retain them. It takes longer to learn how to play the piano than kick a ball. Further more your piano playing will deteriorate faster than your ability to kick a ball. Simple techniques = faster to learn, more powerful, longer retention. Complex techniques = longer to learn, less power, shorter retention.

A proper system of self defense must be simple, repeatable and adaptable. To really evaluate if a system is really effective goes beyond an individual response to a particular situation. You must be able to look at a wide variety if techniques and look for continuity across the board. In broad terms, the first thing you learn should have something in common with the last thing you learn. Your training should directly reflect your purpose.

Damian Ross is CEO of the Self Defense Company and developer of The Self Defense Training System, the most lethal and effective self defense system in the world, The Guardian Defensive Tactics Police Combatives Program, 60 minute Self Defense and the Family Safe Program. Mr. Ross also founded the Self Defense Instructor Program that helps people develop their self defense careers from the ground up. Mr. Ross is originally from Ridgewood, NJ where he was a High School Hall of Fame Athlete in football and wrestling as well as a varsity wrestling coach. He then went on to Lehigh University where he was a varsity wrestler and football player. Mr. Ross has 3 black belts, 4th Degree in Tekkenryu Jujutsu, 2nd Degree in Judo, 2nd Degree in Tae Kwon Do. In addition to his martial arts experience, Mr; Ross spent 8 years in the professional security and personal protection business. He is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities in reality based self defense.